25 People to Watch 2014: Karen Dunlap

Few markets in the United States support two daily newspapers, and a key trend to watch in 2014 is whether Tampa Bay can continue to do so.

“I don’t think it can continue and provide a healthy newspaper organization,” said Karen Dunlap, president of Poynter Institute. While she acknowledges a bias because she serves on the board of the Tampa Bay Times, she also said the private equity ownership of rival Tampa Tribune sparks questions about balance and fairness, sense of local ownership and expected financial returns.

Dunlap steps down as Poynter president, a job she’s held for 10 years, at the end of January, with no announcements made yet as to her successor.

That leaves a vacancy at the top at an organization that not only has put up several acres of prime downtown St. Petersburg property for sale, but also makes a big economic impact, bringing 5,000 journalists and news media leaders annually to the community for meetings and conferences. Senior executives from Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) are among the latest. They will be at Poynter at the end of January.